In Principio: Genesis 1:1 Part 2

I know we just went over this verse, but it’s too profound to take at one sitting. When you meditate on the very first verse of the Bible, something strikes you.

“In the beginning, God…”

God was there at the start, at the very beginning of our universe, at the initiation of space-time itself. He is the principal character of the Book and it’s truest protagonist. Which is to say, the Bible establishes itself from the beginning as a book about God.

Repeat after me: It’s not about you. It’s not a self-help book. It’s not chicken soup for your soul. The Bible is a book about God and His relationship with His Creation, especially His chief creation: mankind.

The God the Bible speaks of is self-evident in His creation [Romans 1:20], which is probably why the Scriptures never bothers to give evidences to establish the Deity. God is. The relationship between Creator and His Creation is established immediately. Genesis 1:1 confirms a deeply held suspicion that all people are born with. Scientists call it “intuitive theism.” Rather than being born atheists, we are born presuming that their is a supernatural cause behind it all.

A well-known parallel passage to Genesis 1:1 is found in John 1:1-3:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made

The rest of the chapter identifies the Word, the Creator God, as the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ [compare Colossians 1:16 and 1 Corinthians 8:6]. In identifying Christ as the Creator, Genesis and the Gospel are intrinsically linked. So there in the very first verse, the Creator is linked to His Creation and, in the Gospel of John, we further find that the Creator is also linked to His plan to redeem His Creation to Himself.

This is why I sometimes think of Genesis 1:1 as God’s thesis statement.

In Principio is a brief commentary/devotional brought to you by DefGen.org.